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Presenter: Steve Borchard, Bureau of Land Management
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Solar Energy and the California Desert
San Diego Solar Conference Marriott Mission Valley September 29, 2009
Bureau of Land Management - California
Public Lands Managed by BLM
Bureau of Land Management - California
The Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976
California Desert District History
Bureau of Land Management - California
California Desert Conservation Area
• Congress declared policy• Retain public lands in Federal ownership• Manage lands for multiple use and sustained yield• Prepare land-use plans• Protect quality of scientific, scenic, historical, ecological, environmental, air, water, and archeological values
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976
Bureau of Land Management - California
California Desert Conservation Area
• Provide food and habitat for fish and wildlife• Provide for recreation, human occupancy, and use• Manage lands in a manner that recognizes the nation’s need for domestic sources of minerals, food, timber, and fiber
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976
Bureau of Land Management - California
Other GovernmentalReviews/Laws
CulturalResources
Recreation
Energy Development
DecisionsLivestockGrazing
Wildlife &
Vegetation
Wilderness
Geology-EnergyMinerals
Native American
Values
Motorized-Vehicle Access
Wild Horse&
Burros
Multiple-Use Considerations
Energy Production & Utility Corridors
Bureau of Land Management - California
Designated by Congress as a
Conservation Area, this 25 million-acre expanse
covers most of southeastern California
-- almost a quarter of the entire state. Nearly half of its acreage is a desert conservation
showcase managed by the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM).
California Desert District
California Desert Conservation Area
Bureau of Land Management - California
California Desert Conservation Area
California Desert Protection Act of 1994 designated wilderness in the CDCA
Established Mojave National Preserve from BLM East Mojave National Scenic Area
Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Monuments expanded and made National Parks
California Desert District
Bureau of Land Management - California
California Desert Conservation Area Plan – 1980
- 25+ million acres / BLM manages about 11 million acres
Northern and Eastern Mojave Desert (NEMO) Plan
- 2.7 million acres public land / Decision signed 2002
Northern and Eastern Colorado Desert (NECO) Plan
- 3.8 million acres public land / Decision signed 2002
West Mojave (WEMO) Plan
- 3.3 million acres public land / Decision signed 2006
Coachella Valley Plan
- 1.2 million acres public land / Decision signed 2002
South Coast Resource Management Plan revision
- 130,000 acres public land / Draft in preparation
Eastern San Diego Resource Management Plan
- 103,000 acres public land / Decision signed 2008
Planning HistoryCDD Management Issues
Bureau of Land Management - California
Wilderness legislation, planning decisions and policy restrict solar
development:
Plan Decisions & Congressional Designations
• Wilderness areas (3.57 million acres)• Wilderness study areas (300,000 acres)• ACECs (90)• DWMAS (3.1 million acres)• Habitat Conservation Area (1.6 million acres)• Lands acquired or donated for conservation
purposes (approx 600,000 acres)
Bureau of Land Management - California
Basic Land Status
Bureau of Land Management - California
The Mojave Desert is a unique resource 300-330 cloudless days per year with level land at a high
elevation Close to 25 million electricity consumers
Solar Potential
Why Here … Why Now?
Bureau of Land Management - California
California Renewable Energy
2002: Senate Bill 1078 establishes the Renewable Portfolio Standard Program (RPSP), requiring 20% renewables by 2020
2006: Senate Bill 107 accelerated the 20% requirement to 2010
2008: Governor issues Executive Order S-14-08 requiring 33% renewables by 2020
Energy Policy Act of 2005 directed Secretaries of Interior and Energy to develop renewable energy projects on public lands with a generating capacity of at least 10,000 megawatts by 2015
2009: Dept. of the Interior Secretarial Order #3289
declares renewable energy as top priority
Bureau of Land Management - California
Beginning in 2005, CDD has received numerous applications for solar energy development,
prompting the need to address applications in a coordinated and
consistent district-wide manner
Currently, 63 applicants first in line with 23 second in line
Renewable Energy Applications
Bureau of Land Management - California
District-wide Application Locations
Bureau of Land Management - California
First generation commercial-scale solar projects
Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS)
Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan
California Renewable Energy Transmission Initiative (RETI)
Concurrent Planning Efforts
Bureau of Land Management - California
First Generation Solar Projects
Processing 10 applications with a total
megawatt capacity of 4,863 Megawatts
Targeting decisions by November 2010 to enable applicants to qualify for ARRA funding
Bureau of Land Management - California
Solar PEIS
Scoping period closed Sept. 14 regarding
solar energy study areas to be analyzed. Proposal was for 24 study areas nationally – four in California
Draft EIS scheduled to be released in June or July of 2010
Bureau of Land Management - California
Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan
Comprehensive planning system
Streamline compliance
Balance projects with ecosystem protection
Identify independent science process
Identify areas for project development
Identify areas intended for conservation
Include Federal partners- BLM and FWS
Bureau of Land Management - California
Transmission
Westwide Energy Corridor PEIS
Sunrise Powerlink
DVP II
Barren Ridge
Greenpath
Blythe
Bureau of Land Management - California
so·lar Pronunciation: \ˈsō-lər, -ˌlär\ Etymology: Middle English, 15th century1 : of, derived from, relating to, The California Desert